CALLED OUT

‘Rings of Power’ Star Snaps Back: ‘Toxic’ Review-Bombers Aren’t True Fans

“I would never consider them to be fans,” said Cynthia Addai-Robinson. “They have agendas. And I just legitimately don’t engage; I just don’t go there.”

An actress from the new Lord of The Rings series, The Rings of Power, has taken a stand against a flurry of racists who’ve flooded the show with bad reviews for casting people of color in key roles. Cynthia Addai-Robinson, who plays Queen Regent Míriel in the Amazon Prime feature, said those who’ve engaged in “review bombing” aren’t true LoTR fans. “I would engage a healthy debate on a topic that I felt was coming from a place of respect and intelligence,” she told NME. “I do not engage with that other thing; that toxic thing. And in fact, I would never consider them to be fans. They have agendas. And I just legitimately don’t engage; I just don’t go there.” The show has received hate from a cohort of white fantasy fans who whined that Amazon was trampling their culture—despite J.R.R. Tolkien featuring non-white characters. “Tolkien created a world which, by definition, is multicultural. A world in which free peoples from different races and cultures join together… to defeat the forces of evil,” Prime Video said in a statement. Addai-Robinson said she won’t be addressing the issue again. “It’s not worth giving it any oxygen.”